Will the 18-point curriculum continue to be taught on courses?
The 18-point curriculum will be utilized during all courses occurring during the 2009 calendar year. After that point all WEA curriculum content will reference the Six Core Competencies.
What is happening to the term "18-point curriculum"?
After courses are completed in 2009, the 18 point curriculum will be referred to as the Historical 18-Point Curriculum. The WEA is historically attached to the 18 point curriculum, the term in itself has a lot of meaning for the association. It is important that we continue to recognize it's importance in our history as an association as well as to acknowledge the content that is still at the heart of the WEA curriculum.
I took a course using the 18 point curriculum, will this change have an effect on my Outdoor Leadership Certification?
No. All individuals who have recieved their Outdoor Leader Certification who have maintained their certification (current WEA membership, continuing education, etc) will continue to hold their certification.
Why was the curriculum changed in the first place?
The Board of Trustees began a thorough review of the association in 2007. The Board of Trustees narrowed the mission of the WEA to focus on curriculum standards in the outdoor leadership industry. As the Strategic Plan unfolded, each of the committees were charged with specific duties to begin moving the association forward and utlimately towards an accreditation model. The Curriculum Committee diligently worked for two years, reviewing the current WEA curriculum and determined the appropriate move to align the curriculum with the Strategic Plan was to create core competency categories. As the curriculum committee proposed changes, the proposed changes were passed to the BOT for approval. The final product of the Six Core Competency titles, definitions and content are the direct product of several years of collaborative efforts of dedicated members of the Association. The Six Core Comptencies takes the heart and soul of the 18 point curriculum and gathers like content with like content in a way that makes the curriculum more evenly weighted and more marketable as a product within the accreditation program. If you look closely at the Six Core Competencies you will find that the vast majority of the definitions and content are drawn directly from the original 18 point curriculum and the 2nd Edition of the Backcountry Classroom. It is merely a reorganization of curricular content to create a simplified package that is marketable to a wide range of audiences.
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